On the day of Trump’s inauguration, the news is ablaze with an avalanche of executive orders and emergency declarations. I will be relying upon expert analysis, and I encourage others to do so as well. It is worth remembering that executive actions and declarations are not worth much legally – they are mostly statements of principles and priorities than anything else. That is not to say that those principles and priorities aren’t meaningful in terms of their propagandistic impact, but rather to say it is hard to know exactly what facts will change on the ground.
It is easy to fall into despair, but I think that it is still worth something to assert the truth. Law and its interpretation are indeed determined by those in power. We see versions of this every day – whom do police choose to surveil? Whom do they arrest? What does the system make easy or hard? Who is assumed to have lives or time of value? These are all political choices, not legal ones. At the same time, it’s important, I think, to maintain a sense of truth, at least to have the power to tell authorities they are wrong. We should not assume correctness just because someone in a uniform says it. And if we are intentionally defying laws, we should know what it is we are defying.
If you’ve been in an abusive relationship, you know that one of the tactics of abusers is rewriting the story of the truth. Physical violence wears you down and forces you to live in a state of hyper-vigilance to survive. Then, the narrative starts. Because you are so busy trying to live, it’s easier to absorb lies about how power works. Memory becomes unreliable. The story of the relationship becomes a terrible joint effort, defined by the push and pull of truth, lies, and everything in between. Small errors of judgment become large ones. Acts of violence become smaller, a minor retaliation. You question your judgment because, after all, if you are wrong about who you are, are you wrong about everything else?
The truth, in the form of information, can serve as a corrective. It can ground us and remind us that while, perhaps, someone is trying to gaslight us, there is still something you can rely upon. Sometimes we have to remind each other what the truth is. I will always opt for information over panic. I think panic is a valid and legitimate response to external conditions. But I also think I can best mitigate it with the reminder that however much things are spinning out of control, the arc is long, even when it bends towards oppression today.
Your words ring so true. And are just what I needed to read this cold, rainy morning.